Back To Hueco Mundo
by The Name of A Ghost
Summary: Continuation from Chapter 354. What happens when we return to Hueco Mundo after the Ichigo/Ulquiorra showdown? Ulquihime centric but give it a chance, it's more expansive than just the Ulquihime moments at the end of the last HM chapters!
1. Chapter 1

"Are you afraid of me, girl?" He asked in parting. _This is it. The end._

His eyes once so stoic, so cold, held no hostility now; Just a need for understanding. Hand raised, he reached out to her – _forgive me._

'I… I'm not scared" And she meant it too. All at once she realized her captor was as much a victim as she. Hand raised, she reached out to him – _I forgive you. _And she meant that as well.

_This is it… here in my hand…_ Through outstretched fingers Orihime tried in vain to reach the redeemed Espada. In his parting moments he had realized what Kurosaki's nakama had meant when she so often spoke of the heart. As he faded away, he entrusted everything of him that could remain on this world to the orange haired woman who had shown him how to live again.

_This is it… The Heart._

"Or…Orihime?" Ichigo Kurosaki said tentatively as he approached the oranged haired woman, who was now on her knees.

_Go away Ichigo._

Orihime Inoue's mind was on one thing only, and it was NOT her once so precious Kurosak-Kun.

Tears flowed freely from her light grey eyes as she started at the empty space where the Cuatro Espada had previously stood. As she looked back on what had just happened she shook – she truly had learned the meaning of despair. Just when she thought there'd been no hope for Ulquiorra Cifer, he had realized what it is to have a heart and what it means to entrust it to another. And then with that realization upon him he had passed on into the winds of Hueco Mundo. _It's so unfair_ she thought bitterly, still frozen in shock.

Suddenly, unbidden a memory took over her mind. A memory of a time when "Lord" Aizen himself had said that her powers "Violate the realms of the gods" and another from when the Vizard Hachi had suggested that she does not actually need a piece of something to restore it. _But then if some piece of Ulquiorra is still drifting on the wind I should be able to restore him anyway… right?_

But should she? He had been an enemy to all her friends, nearly killed Ichigo and kept her trapped in a tower in Las Noches. But on the other hand he'd never harmed her and on occasion, before his demise in the wastes of Hueco Mundo she could of sworn she saw some sort of flicker of humanity beneath his cold exterior. But there was still that inkling of worry that kept her from releasing her Shun Shun Rikka – What would her friends think?! Her friends who had battled so desperately to liberate her from her entrapment in the constant night of the hollow desert, how would they react? Was it wrong to want to give her melancholic captor another chance at redemption?

Her head told her they would not react well at all. But in her heart of hearts, where perhaps _his_ heart now lay as well, she knew that if she did not try she would carry the guilt with her for the rest of her life.

Slowly she rose to her feet and turned, tears flowing to face her battle worn nakama. After she had quickly assessed the damage and ensured that they were not on their death beds, Orihime made her decision. She would try to bring him back, and if she failed well… at least she knew she tried. _Deep down_, she thought, _they'll understand._

Gathering all her resolve she turned her attention back to her friends, who stared on in silence. There was a look in her eyes that they'd never seen before. Back in Karakura she'd just been the shy little dizzy girl, always daydreaming but always getting good grades. When they'd gone to the Soul Society to rescue rukia she had awakened her powers but still just wasn't strong enough to really do anything but stand on the sidelines.

But now, now was a different story. And who would of thought that putting poor Orihime Inoue under the most intense of pressures would of seen her come in to her own and finally realize that she had the power to make a difference all along.

She could _completely reject_ something happening. It certainly was a power no one else had obtained and although she had only been used as a decoy, she now realized it was her time to shine. Because if she didn't, someone who didn't deserve the end he received would be gone forever, lost amongst the sand and the ruins.

And so, she turned her back on her nakama (_only for the time being, _she thought) and raised her hand to her azure hairpin and with all her will power shouted –

"Soten Kisshun – I REJECT!"…

The sky flashed blinding white. A silence had descended on Hueco Mundo. In the vast white desert, life itself had come to a complete standstill.


	2. Chapter 2

Well here we are – chapter 2! Thank you so much for the reviews already! I'm sure that the concept of the last chapter has been done many times but I shall try and turn it into something original ^_^

Disclaimer I forgot to put in first chapter – Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo not me sadly!

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Chapter 2 -

As the blinding white light had enveloped the sands of Hueco Mundo, Orihime had closed her eyes and put every ounce of strength into her one wish – to bring Ulquiorra Cifer back from the dark. As the light faded however, she began to realize that the silence her Shun Shun Rikka had brought down upon the land had extended in to a much longer amount of time than was natural. Slowly, she lowered her arms from her face and turned around to towards her friends. What she saw pushed her eyes wide open to the limit – her friends had literally been frozen in time. Ichigo looked pained, arm outstretched towards her. Orihime couldn't tell if it was a look of anger or fear on his face. Most likely, she thought, it was a bit of both. Uryu had crumpled over, his arms clutching the wound that the newly evolved hollow Ichigo had inflicted upon him.

Another thing she noticed, with utmost regret, was that in what she had actually wished to achieve… she had failed. Her redeemed captor had not been returned to her. Tears formed in her once so lively eyes. She couldn't believe what had just happened.

_Why couldn't I just have this one victory?_

Orihime Inoue was never one to feel bitterness. Even when she was bullied in school for the colour of her fair she was able smile in the face of it all. And even when her brother had been so cruely taken from her the day he had died in the Kurosaki Clinic after the car accident, she had still found herself able to feel happiness, especially after she met Tatsuki.

But now, all she could feel was pain and anger towards herself for not being strong enough, for being a _burden._ All she ever did was try and that was never good enough she thought agonizingly, as she looked on at her friends.

By leaving, she thought that she had protected her friends. But in reality all it had done was bring more danger down upon them. And once again in doing what she thought was right she had done more damage than good.

"Kurosaki-Kun?" She reverted to her old honorific for her orange haired nakama, though this time more out of guilt than love. In coming to Hueco Mundo she had finally realized that Ichigo Kurosaki would never feel for her the way she did for him. And unrequited love was just no fun at all to Orihime.

Kurosaki made no reply. Time really was frozen – there wasn't even a gentle breeze.

Slowly she walked over to the frozen Shinigami. As far as she could tell, he wasn't dead, just… still.

_Well that's a something I suppose…_

She turned from Ichigo and walked haltingly over to the injured Quincy. Although Uryu was not breathing, she noticed with relief that although he too was a living statue now, the blood that had been pouring freely from the wound inflicted by Tensa Zangetsu had ceased.

_How is this possible?!_ She thought, horrified. _Why did no one tell me that the Shun Shun Rikka can stop time?! Soten Kisshun is a healer, not a… a time stopper!_

She couldn't begin to fathom why no one had told her about this power. Surely Urahara must of known about it, he seemed pretty knowledgable on these things. And Aizen – he never even mentioned it. He mentioned that her ability was to reject, but he never mentioned she could reject _time itself!_

The whole situation just seemed completely ridiculous to our copper haired heroine. If she hadn't felt so alone during this new complication, she probably would have laughed. As it were, all she could to was try and then fail to keep the tears from forming in her eyes.

Tears falling like waterfalls, she attempted to gather herself up again. _I need to make things right_ she thought, determined to rectify the problem.

Hands on hairpins she called out "Soten Kissun – I reject!" and poised herself, ready for another blinding flash of light as time was put right again.

But… it never came. As she opened her eyes again she realized not a second had passed to the rest of Hueco Mundo. To Orihime of course, it seemed like hours had been and gone.

Turing back to the waste land of the desert she screamed with all the might she could muster "Soten Kisshun I REJECT… I RE…JECT!" And with that broke down once again into floods of tears.

_What am I supposed to do now?!_ She screamed, maybe in her head, maybe out loud. She just wasn't sure anymore. All she knew was that she had failed, and that in itself was completely unbearable.

As she stared out into the depths of the hollow desert, looking for answers but not finding any she suddenly noticed another presence lurking near by. Their reiatsu was unidentifiable but she some how felt that she knew it all the same. It was so foreign, yet so familiar. And it had her on instant alert. Frozen in place like her nakama beside her she realized that who ever this entity was that was currently hiding had not been affected by the time rejection. _Who are you?!_ She wanted to yell, but caution told her to stay still and wait.

Suddenly she heard the sound of spirit particles parting as someone flash stepped up behind her.

"What have you done to me woman?!"

That voice, so familiar yet unexpected sent Orihime into a fluster.

"I… I… _What_?" She replied, not quite able to comprehend what was currently taking place.

"Did I stutter?" The voice replied, with an edge of sarcasm to it. "I shall ask again – _What have you done to me woman?"_

And with that Orihime turned to face the embodiment of the voice she had thought may have been a dream. But it was no dream. Before her, whole once more although somehow _different _stood her captor, former Espada number four – Ulquiorra Cifer.

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Dun Dun DUUUN.

I shall update soon hopefully, I have a few ideas for the next chapter, oh yess

Keep the reviews coming, tell me what you think, I love hearing your feedback!


	3. Chapter 3

Well here we are, chapter 3! Hope you like it all so far!

I do not own bleach!

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Chapter 3 –

_What have you done to me woman?!_

Orihime could hardly believe her ears. The impossible had been made possible. She hadn't failed. She hadn't been a burden for once in her life. Ulquiorra Cifer had been brought back by the power of her resolve, and those oh so handy hairpins her brother had bestowed upon her all those years ago. She was aware that he had asked her a question, but she was unable to answer, stunned into silence by the man before her.

He was still the same but _softer_ somehow. His helmet that had disappeared along with him into the dust of Hueco Mundo had not returned, neither had the tear tracks that marred his now obviously beautiful face. His ghost white skin had become a more natural shade but his eyes had retained their shocking emerald glow.

As Orihime took this all in she edged tentatively towards the stoic man before her. _Am I dreaming?_ She thought as she came closer to the one person she thought she'd never see again. Warily she raised a hand towards the collar of his white jacket, which seemed to be the only trace of his Arrancar past still visible and slowly lowered the zip.

She wasn't sure what to expect. And she certainly didn't know how to react when she lowered to the zip to find… a completely normal collarbone. No hole, nothing; Just skin over bone. Could it truly be possible that the Cuatro Espada was now _human?_ Orihime found this hard to believe, even though the proof was starting her straight in the eyes with a steely glare.

"Woman" A voice spoke from just above her hand. "Though I do not enjoy rushing conversation, neither to I enjoy repeating myself. I asked you a question now give me an answer."

That once so indifferent voice now held an edge, a sense of urgency. Though, after being ripped from the very brink of the void of death, one would expect the recipient of this resurrection to be slightly confused. Unfortunately for Ulquiorra Cifer, Orihime honestly had no idea what had just come to pass. Her mind was still stuck on the fact that she _froze time_ and the fact that she had no idea how to reverse the damage she had done.

She stared in wonder at the Arrancar before her. Ulquiorra was, undeniably… human.

With this realization she began to see what the former Espada was demanding of her.

Cautiously (for although he was human, Murcielago was still attached to his waist) she opened her mouth to speak -

"I… I don't know. I saw…you were… your eyes… and then… I used my pins… and rejected… and somehow I stopped time and now here you are!"

Needless to say she was very confused right now.

A reply came instantly. "Woman, you did not stop time."

_What?!_

"I didn't?" she looked up into the Espadas green eyes in wonder and realized that her hand was still at the base of his throat. Swiftly she removed it and began wringing her hands, as was her usual position when she was nervous.

"No, you did not. As I felt my body resume some semblance of shape I used what is called the Tiemo Negacion to temporarily freeze the time in Hueco Mundo." He replied, as if this were obvious.

Orihime was still rather confused. "But… I don't understand, why would you need to do that?"

The stoic Ex-Espada looked down upon her with a twinge of annoyance. "Think woman, If I had reappeared on the battlefield do you really think Kurosaki would give it a second of thought before taking up his attack again?"

Slowly she began to understand, and a flood of relief washed over her. She had not been the one to stop time. But she _had_ brought Ulquiorra back from the void. Pride swelled in her as she realized for once in her life she wasn't the worthless one.

But still, she couldn't find an answer to his original question. What _had_ she done to him? He clearly wasn't an Espada anymore, but could still use Sonido. So what did this all mean? Was he a human? A Shinigami? She just didn't know.

"I'm sorry but I just… I just don't know what happened!" She stepped back and looked up at his new found humanity. "Just before… before you died I saw something change in you… you deserved a second chance. So I used the power of the Shun Shun Rikka to reject what Kurosaki did to you. It just didn't seem fair that you should go and he should stay!" She almost shouted the last part.

Ulquiorra looked down at the girl trembling before him. She was an anomaly, of that he was certain. Always thinking with that heart of hers before using her head. He couldn't quite comprehend why she'd brought him back – he had after all, kept her prisoner, and on more than one occasion threatened to force feed her. But then, after he'd found his _own_ heart, he'd reached out to her. Why he had done so was still a mystery to the indifferent Arrancar. He'd only just realized what feelings where, so her certainly didn't understand why it was her he'd reached out to, why her face was the last thing he desired to see before he passed into the winds.

And now… he was human. Or so it seemed to him anyway. Some of his hollow powers still remained. He could still use sonido, and half heartedly wondered if he should fire up a Cero and blast the tearful woman in front of him out into the desert. Of course, his new found heart and conscience told him this was the wrong thing to do, and so he thrust his twitching finger into the traditional depths of his pockets.

"You… don't know." He began, trying to keep his temper steady. "Woman, you've reduced me to human trash and now you're telling me you can't explain how? Unacceptable." Irritation flitted up inside him. A new emotion he mused. Although he'd claimed before that this woman's idle banter annoyed him he had never truly felt it. Until he'd found his heart that is, now he was feeling all sorts of strange new feelings.

Orihime Inoue trembled beneath the weight of Ulquiorra's spiritual pressure as he struggled to contain his new found annoyance. He was angry, and that was not a good sign. Despite his actions before his death and redemption, Orihime had believed that if she had somehow managed to bring him back he would be happy about it. _Embrace it_ even. His actual reaction came as a shock to her. She had never even considered that he would not _want _to be brought back. Although she'd also never considered that if her healing powers had managed to bring him back he'd come back more human than hollow.

All in all, it was a strange occurrence for both of them, though they were both feeling completely different emotions.

As he struggled to contain himself, Ulquiorra was in two minds. He knew now that he had some sort of connection to the woman before him, but he also knew that this new form of his was _not_ something he'd ever wanted to return to, even if it did seem that most of his powers remained intact.

Where would he go now? That was his main question. Would Aizen still want him, with out his Espada status? Did he even want to return to his former Lord? Kurosaki and his Nakama (with the exception of the woman of course) would never accept his new existence, especially after he nearly caused the death of their favored substitute Shinigami on more than one occasion.

So what where his options? Of this, he was unsure. Although during his time as a hollow he had lived alone, consuming souls at an unnatural rate, the thought of an eternity alone now irked Ulquiorra in a way he never thought would be possible. He did know however, that he needed to have a serious think about his options, and that his copper haired savior was an incredibly distracting element. Her unsure looks, her hands over her heart – he couldn't stop himself from watching her. And right now, she was a distraction he didn't need.

And so with one last look, he prepared to sonido away and disappeared back into the vast wasteland of Hueco Mundo, leaving Orihime to fall back down to her knees, just as the Tiempo Negacions effects lost their power, and her nakama awoke from their negation box induced states.

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Well that's the end of chapter 3, hope you like. Let me know if it's going a bit slow for you guys and I'll try and pick up the pace. Personally I like it but it's you guys who this is for so let me know!


	4. Chapter 4

You guys are so amazing, thanks for your kind words so far!

p.s there is a slight spoiler for the latest chapter on here (371) although it hopefully didn't give away TOO much. I just wanted to keep faithful the Manga as much as possible .

Don't let it put you off though! :D

Oh one more thing, I've been reprimanded (though in the nicest way possible – thankyou Wutai Flea!) about my spelling of Ulquiorra's last name. I checked on the Bleach Wiki and it says "Cifer" is correct, though it was previously Schiffer. Not sure why the change happened but I thought I'd let you know to save confusion!

Sorry for any more mistakes, they always elude me when I read through!

Enjoy!

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Meanwhile, back in Fake Karakura Town –

_Hmm _Aizen thought to himself suddenly, _something's changed._ Although he was currently overseeing the take over of Karakura he was still monitoring the goings on of Hueco Mundo and oh my, something had changed indeed. But he'd been too caught up to notice. _Funny _he mused, _I'd thought myself indifferent to the battles of my subordinates. _But he'd been more intrigued by their ongoing battles than he'd first thought. Too intrigued by far, to notice that something rather significant had just taken place in the world of the hollow's. He'd been so consumed by his top 3 Espada's battles that only when Barragan had fired his Gran Caida at him had he finally realized something was going on beside what was directly in front of him.

_I could of sworn that Ulquiorra's reiatsu just disappeared… but no, there it is._

Suddenly a look of shock planted itself upon Aizen's otherwise unmovable face.

_It can't be!_

"Gin, Tousen" He said aloud "An… incident has arisen that needs my attention, I must return to Hueco Mundo. I trust I can leave our ex-comrades fate in your hands, yes?" The look in his eyes gave away that anything but success would lead to trouble. And trouble at the hands of Sosuke Aizen was even less preferable than usual.

"Hai, Aizen-Taicho" Gin replied, the fixed smile frozen on his fox-like face. "You have fun now!"

Aizen smiled inwardly, it amused him that even after all the time spent in Las Noches, cut off from their Shinigami history, his two companions still lapsed into their old ways. "_Captain" Aizen, heh._

Tousen uttered a simple "Hai" and lapsed back into silence.

_Always the same_ Aizen smiled, before he disappeared into the large Garganta behind him.

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Orihime watched fearfully as her guardian disappeared into the desert. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She knew she couldn't stop him, but oh how she wanted to. She wanted to demand he explain himself to her, to make her understand what he was going through. She wasn't the girl she used to be, but she certainly couldn't keep up with sonido, so catching him just wasn't an option. _Damn it!_

She finally thought she'd done something right and it had backfired once again.

"Orihime?" A voice came from behind. _Ichigo!_ She'd forgotten about Uryu's and his temporary time freeze and now she had no time whatsoever to come up with an explanation to her previous actions. And let's be honest, she'd never been good at lying. Why should now be any different.

"I seriously hope you weren't about to do what I think you were gonna do!" Said the voice again.

_Think Orihime, think!_ She shouted desperately in her mind as she turned around to face her somewhat betrayed nakama.

"Well… um… I…" her voice fell into silence as they looked on, steely glares plastered to their faces.

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As Ulquiorra came to his senses once again after fleeing the scene of his impromptu resurrection he suddenly realized he had ended his flight in the throne room of Las Noches. Ironic, he thought, that his original ordeal had began in this very room. But then who could of forseen what cane to pass. Ichigo Kurosaki's inner hollow, and it disgusted Ulquiorra greatly to admit that is what it was, had undergone a transformation, cutting him down in the process.

And now here he was, Ulquiorra Cifer – Human Trash. He shuddered at the thought, and then stopped abruptly. He refused to be overcome by these new, horribly human emotions. _No_, he thought, he would remain as before - stoic and indifferent and would deny the facts even if they were layed out plainly before him.

But then, the thought of that woman's face ripped through his internal monologue and gripped his… his _heart _and he felt something he'd never felt before, not in this existence anyway – he felt _shame. _Shame for the way he was feeling, shame for running away. It was wrong that he should feel this way, but he felt it none the less.

While he stood motionless pondering this unwanted feeling he felt an overwhelming reiatsu appear beside him.

_AIZEN-SAMA!_

And with that thought, the blood drained from the former Espada and he dropped to the ground from the pressure the shock of his masters appearance had caused him. He fainted. _Pathetic _a voice echoed, from somewhere deep in his subconscious.

The Lord of Las Noches stared down at him disdainfully, the disgust apparent on his angular features. Something had changed alright, and it wasn't something even he, the seemingly all knowing thief of the Hogyoku could of preditcted.

_My My, what an interesting twist _he thought to himself, as he neatly kicked the limp body of the fallen Arrancar, a sneer marring his perfectly symmetrical features.

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2 cliffhangers, one chapter! I know it's a little short, I guess it's an intermission of sorts, a transition into the next part of the story.

As always, you're comments are welcome. (And loved!)


	5. Chapter 5

So chapter 5 has arrived! Hope you're all liking so far! Once again I am sorry for any mistakes and I do not own bleach etc…

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Slowly a pair of emerald eyes opened and began to focus on the scene before them. It seemed slightly odd, the owner of the eyes thought, that everything was on it's side. And then he remembered. Just a few minutes ago he had sensed the flaring reiatsu of his master, who didn't seem at all pleased to see his most loyal subordinate resurrected.

Ulquiorra Cifer rolled over on to his back with an almost inaudible sigh and was greeted back to the conscious world by the face of Sosuke Aizen staring straight at him disgustedly.

"Aizen-Sama" He said hurriedly as he jumped up to attention to properly acknowledge his lords return. Part of Ulquiorra was deeply concerned by the look on Aizen's face, but the other part of him was busy feeling disdain for his new found worry. When had he, the indifferent 4th Espada ever felt _worry_? It made him feel quite weak, another feeling he loathed.

"Greetings Ulquiorra, I think it would be most wise of you to tell what has come to pass since my absence in Las Noches. Omitting information would be most _foolish_." The lord stared on, a glint in his eye.

And so Ulquiorra began to tell the man before him about the showdown with Kurosaki and although Aizen had said it would be foolhardy to omit details, he could not bring himself to tell him about his second release. And he also found it unnecessary to tell the lord of his discovery of the meaning of _heart. _Lord Aizen stopped Ulquiorra as he began to talk of Kurosaki's transformation into his second form of his hollow self.

"So Kurosaki had an ace up his sleeve indeed. How intruiging…" He mused.

"Aizen-Sama, I believe the boy was unaware he had this ability. It would appear that his hollow side completely took over. Although this second hollow seemed incapable of proper speech, it's power was un-matched. Even by myself…" Ulquiorra replied tentatively.

The Lord chucked to himself. "Yes I'm quite aware of your shortcomings Ulquiorra, the reverberations of what happened could be felt all the way over in the real world by anyone who cared to listen. What I do wonder however, is how you were brought back from the dust. It seemed the girl's power was exactly what we expected. However, the gained result was not quite so predictable."

Ulquiorra looked on, not quite sure what Lord Aizen was getting at.

"I'm sure that you have realized Ulquiorra, that a heart now beats in your chest. Your Hollow mask has miraculously disappeared, your hollow hole is… not so hollow anymore. To cut a long story short, you're human now. And although your reiatsu remains, the fact you're now human makes you utterly _dispensable."_

The Cuatro Espada's eyes flew wide open. Dispensable?! After all the loyalty he had shown the man before him, just because he was now human he was no longer needed!? Ulquiorra wasn't sure he actually wanted to return to Aizen's side, but his true nature was quite shocking. Ulquiorra supposed he had been blind to it as an Arrancar. With no emotions, he followed orders without question and so had never really seen Aizen as _cruel,_ he had just seen him as the top of the food chain. To disobey would mean death, or worse and as an Arrancar he strived for power, not to perish at the hands of a rogue shinigami.

"I am… dispensable?" Ulquiorra repeated slowly, still not quite able to believe what he had heard.

"Hmm? Yes I'm afraid so. Now that you've got those oh so bothersome emotions to deal with, I just don't need you anymore. Your emotions could very much get in the way of your orders and I just can't have that. Gin would joke and say I'm being heartless, but hearts don't win battles so I'm sorry to say that I'm releasing you from my service." Aizen replied with a glint in his maroon tinted eyes.

_Released from service… _No one was ever just _released from service. _Ulquiorra tried to calculate what would happen next. He could sense the spiritual pressure of the man before him building. To be released would surely mean death, which was cruel, considering Ulquiorra had only been _alive_ again for a short while. Slowly, he tried to inconspicuously bring his hand to the hilt of Murcielago. Aizen smiled a pitiless smile.

"Ah, so I see you understand. Draw your sword Ulquiorra, let us finish this quickly."

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As Orihime Inoue stared back at the piercing gazes of her two treasured friends, she tried in vain to think of an excuse for what had just happened. But in the end all she could say was _I'm sorry _before breaking down in tears.

"Inoue, please don't cry. Just tell us what happened." Ichigo said gently. No matter what he thought had just happened, Orihime was his friend, a friend who he had battled for even in the most hopeless situations, and he hated to see her cry. She would have a good reason for whatever she had just tried to do, he was sure.

As Orihime's sobs subsided she looked up pleadingly at Ichigo's face. She had to make him understand why she'd done what she had done. But every time she looked at him, all she could think of was what he had become during his last battle, which made her almost too nervous to string a sentence together.

"Ichigo, please understand I didn't do anything to hurt you. After you became… after you changed, Ulquiorra changed too. He realized what a heart is, why we fight for our friends. He… he wanted forgiveness." Orihime began, shaking.

Ichigo looked shocked. Although he knew Orihime would never lie, he could not, would not believe that something as huge as a hollow having a heart would ever be possible.

"Inoue, I…" He tried to reply, but was cut off by Orihime trying to explain what had happened.

She slowly began her tale, Ichigo and Uryu gasping open mouthed at the right places, although Uryu was not in the state to do much else and so did not join in when Ichigo jumped up in shock after Orihime told them how Ulquiorra now appeared to be human.

"He's _WHAT?!_" Ichigo exclaimed, shocking Orihime back into silence. The Cuatro Espada has now _human! _As the rest of what had happened was told, Ichigo began to worry. Orihime clearly thought that the former Arrancar was now redeemed but Ichigo was not so sure. Where had he ran off to if he was so redeemed? Surely he would wish to stay with the one person who had helped him find his so called heart. Ichigo couldn't help but suspect that Ulquiorra had ran off back to his master like a good little lap dog. But he didn't voice these concerns to Orihime, who had now set about healing Uryu, as he was worried that in her current state anymore blows to her resolve would cause her to completely crumble.

Ichigo made a snap decision. Seeing that the healing process was almost complete he grabbed Orihime by the arm, gently but with a sense of authority.

"Kurosa-" shocked, she began to revert back to her honorific use of Ichigo's name but he cut her off with a small smile.

"No time Inoue, we've got to get back to the real world, the battle's just beginning!"

At first, Orihime could not quite grasp what he was saying. Return to the real world? Ridiculous. They couldn't go back, not until they found Ulquiorra anyway! He could be out there all alone, and vulnerable now he was no longer a hollow. No, she couldn't go back, not yet anyway.

As Ichigo began to drag her away she snapped out of her reverie and realized she had to take action to stop her Nakama from dragging her all the way back to Karakura.

"Koten Zanshun – I reject!" She cried as Tsubaki leapt from her hairpins. He did not shoot to kill, but used enough power to shock Kurosaki into dropping Orihime's hand.

Ichigo looked on in awe as Orihime ran off into the desert, back towards Las Noches, the place he had just come to rescue her from.

"I'm sorry Ichigo, but I have to find him!" She called out as she ran, looking back only for an instant.

A groan came from behind him. Turning he saw that Uryu had fallen to the ground once again. He was in worse shape than he'd originally thought. _Better try and find Hanataro _he thought, sensing his reiatsu somewhere in the area. _Orihime seems pretty determined to find the Espada, but if I don't get Uryu to a healer he's not gonna make it…_

And so with one last look of regret he flash stepped back the way he came – the opposite way to Orihime.

----------------

_Draw your sword Ulquiorra,, let us finish this quickly._ Sosuke Aizen's words echoed in Ulquiorra's ears as he grasped Murcielargo's viridian hilt and drew out his sword.

Anger flared up in him as he looked into the eyes of his now former master as he drew Kyoka Suigetsu from it's sheath. Ulquiorra was not one to let his anger show in his face, as impassive as it was but his reiatsu did all the talking for him.

"My my, what a temper you've developed" Aizen mocked as Ulquiorra's grip tightened on his sword. With a roar the former Espada leapt at his enemy with intent to drive Murcielargo straight through Aizen's shriveled heart.

But Aizen was quick, he leapt aside and landed a straight shop with his hand against Ulquiorra's back which sent him flying into one of the crumbling pillars. He rose from the rubble, battered but still willing to continue and faced the Shinigami once again.

"Is that all you've got Ulquiorra? How weak you are. I must say I'm shocked, I thought even as a human you'd have quicker reactions than that at." Aizen taunted from the other side of the room.

Ulquiorra said nothing. He deemed words unnecessary at this point, and instead focused his efforts on how he would defeat the man before him. Deciding he would make one last attempt at a direct hit, Ulquiorra raced towards the chestnut haired man who stood stoic, waiting for his attack. _Too slow _Ulquiorra thought as he brought his sword up above his head, ready to strike. And then, just as he brought his sword down to Aizen's neck he felt a slash rip across his back. A searing pain took over his entire body as he felt blood gush freely from his wound.

"What a disappointment" Aizen sneered, now behind him, sheathing Kyoka Suigetsu once more. "I would of thought you'd at least realize I released my Shikai. But no, what _trash _you've become. Farewell, former Cuatro" And with that Lord Aizen opened a garganta and returned to the battle of fake Karakura, his laugh echoing around the walls of Las Noches.

_A short battle indeed…_

Crimson pooled around the body of the defeated man, his uniform stained red. Aizen had been ruthless, and accurate. An artery had been opened and the blood poured by the bucket load as the hollow turned human prepared to die from loss of blood. As his eyes began to glaze over, Ulquiorra swore he saw an angel appear in the doorway before him. A yellowy white light surrounded her, her auburn hair blowing gently in the wind.

"ULQUIORRA!" Her voice rang out. _She knows my name _he thought sadly. Fading slowly into the black abyss of unconsciousness the last thing Ulquiorra heard was the echo of the angel's feet running towards him and then… nothing.

----------------

Our poor Ulquiorra isn't having much luck is he! But fear not, I have some good plans for the next few chapters ;)

Please let me know what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys, so far the response has been fairly positive so thanks a lot!

Anyway, lets get down to it – chapter 6!

******

Time slows when something horrific happens. You watch a kid fall off their bike; time slows as their head comes nearer to the floor. You see a car crash, time slows as one car ploughs into another. And so on. For Orihime Inoue, watching Aizen land a fatal blow on the back of Ulquiorra Cifer seemed like it would last a lifetime. Once the current lord of Las Noches had stepped back through the Garganta she came to her senses and ran to the bleeding man.

_What have I done?!_ She thought frantically as she noticed the blood still pouring freely from the open wound. For of course she blamed herself. If it hadn't been for her, this wouldn't have happened - Ulquiorra would of just faded away in to the wind and been lost forever. But because of her he was now lying facedown in a pool of his own fluid, bleeding profusely.

She knew she had to do something but the sight of the broken man before her was a complete shock to the system. After watching the intensity of his battle with Ichigo, the fact that after a matter of minutes he had been defeated so easily really showed him for what he was now – breakable, human.

The task before her should have been easy, healing a wound was nothing compared to what she had previously achieved but she needed to pull herself together otherwise her attempt would be useless.

_Breath Orihime – get a grip!_

Breathing shakily she began to regain her composure. Yet again raising her hand to her azure hairpins she called out – "Soten Kisshun – I reject." And her yellow shield spread out over the long gash in Ulquiorra's back.

Even now, the somewhat simple task of healing a wound seemed to amaze Orihime. When her brother had bestowed the gift of the hairpins on her, she had never imagined the power they would contain. Funny, she thought, that her power would manifest itself in the last thing her dear brother had ever given her. Funny, but somewhat fitting. He was always the one to give her strength after all.

Slowly, the canyon of a wound that was the slice in Ulquiorra's back began to close, the flesh knitting itself back together. It took concentration on Orihime's behalf, but after what seemed like forever (for she was still fairly worn down from the original resurrection of her captor), the wound had closed leaving not even a faint line to prove it had once been a fatal injury.

Work done, despite the fact it probably wasn't safe, Orihime flopped back and slipped into a light, but well deserved slumber.

_Saving people sure is hard work…_ She thought, smiling as she entered the world of dreams.

********

_So this is true death_ Ulquiorra CIfer thought as the pain and blood loss of his wound over took him. _I've seen an angel, am I truly redeemed?_

If he still had control of his bodily functions, there's a chance you may have seen a flicker of a smile cross his lips, but as it was he seemed to currently be separated from his body.

_Such a strange day_. A total understatement for anyone viewing the situation from the outside, but Ulquiorra wasn't one to exaggerate so strange seemed to fit current events perfectly.

He'd been irrevocably betrayed by the one man he had pledged total loyalty to and if there were one reason Ulquiorra would want to be brought back from this back abyss once more it would be to seek revenge against his former lord. Aizen-_sama _he thought with disgust, and maybe a twinge of… regret?

His newly found human form would not let him escape his fate without feeling a sense of bitterness at the fact his loyalty had been thrown back in his no longer tear stained face.

Still reflecting on this, his body growing colder by the minute he suddenly felt a stifling heat take over his back. It wasn't the painful heat of a sword slash, more like the heat of the sun on a summer's day. _This is it then_ he thought. No longer cold he believed that he was about to meet his maker, as it were. Preparing to lose himself to the heat he tried to drown out all thoughts of betrayal and let himself slip into the void for the final time. However, as he lay there he began to feel more and more _conscious? _

How this could be possible, he just did not know. As his eyes began to blur back into focus he realized that he lay in exactly the same place he had fallen in his previous battle with Aizen – on the stone cold floor of Las Noches.

_Impossible!_

Revived again, what kind of cruel fate was this?! Every time Ulquiorra believed he was about to perish he was brought back to this world by a blinding light.

What kind of God would bring someone back over and over again? It seemed if there were a God, he was playing a cruel game indeed.

And then he realized. Not a God. An orange haired anomaly. A human who defied the laws of the world so completely it was almost unbelievable. But here she was anyway, passed out from exhaustion on the floor next to her former captor, happiness obvious on her porcelain face.

_Why does she keep saving me?! I was never kind to her; only in my last moments did I realize I felt anything other than disdain for her so why?!_

With a sigh, knowing that he would get no answers until she had awakened in her own time, he removed himself from the pool of his own blood and lay down on his back, arms behind his head. Without even realizing, for he had not slept in many years and had almost forgotten what sleep was, his eyes closed and he slipped into a fitful slumber, years of sleepless nights making his dreams more vivid than he could of imagined.

**********

When Ichigo had finally made it back to Hanataro, carrying the Quincy Uryu Ishida on his back, he felt like he'd fought a million battles and ran a million miles. The guilt he felt at leaving Orihime to run after the Espada was crushing, but he knew if he hadn't let her go, there was a 99% chance that the Quincy would have died out there in the sands. Silently he cursed himself for being so impatient.

_Inoue could have healed him if I hadn't pushed her to leave with us! _He thought angrily as Hanataro ran towards them. Gently lowering Uryu to the ground he left the fate of his friend to the healers before him. He hadn't noticed Vice-Captain Isane's presence before, having not really interacted with her before, but it relieved him greatly that she happened to be there. Having the second best healer in the Seireitei here to help his injured friend cheered him greatly. As did the fact that standing a way back was his dear friend Rukia Kuchiki. Her brother was there also, which he had slightly more neutral feelings about. Although he now accepted Rukia and looked out for her, he could never quite forget that he had almost sacrificed her to uphold the law.

But that wasn't important right now. What was important was getting his Quincy friend healed up and then going back after Orihime.

The two nobles in the background appeared before Ichigo, one looking impassive as usual, and the other concern obvious on her face.

"Ichigo… what happened?" Her voice cracked as she looked on at the scene before her, healing light now illuminating Uryu.

Ichigo took a moment to consider how to retell the events that had just taken place. How could he tell them that he was once again victim to his inner hollow? How could he _then _tell them that his opponent had been resurrected by none other than their friend Orihime Inoue. She was already considered a traitor by half the Soul Society, so it really wasn't going to look good that she'd healed and then ran off after the former Espada.

Slowly Ichigo began his tale, omitting the depth of his hollow transformation but admitting that it was he who impaled the Quincy. Byakuya raised an eyebrow at this piece of information but said nothing. Rukia looked on in utter shock and the healers felt pity, for being of a more caring nature than the other squads they understood the guilt the substitute shinigami must be feeling.

It hurt Ichigo to see the shock and hurt on Rukia's face as he told her the rest of the story. Although they bickered endlessly he loved her dearly, although as more than a friend he did not yet know. All he knew was that of all the people he knew, it hurt him the most to see her upset. She was normally so hardy and unwavering. The betrayal they felt towards Orihime was reflected on both their faces, although you could tell either of them would still run after her in a heartbeat. That's what true friendship meant to them. Although bad decisions were made, they understood that there must be reasons behind it, and so would not discard her as easily as some friends would.

When Rukia voiced that she wished to pursue their friend her brother's reaction shocked her the most. She had been expecting some sort of order for her to stay but that was not the case.

"If you feel the need to pursue the human then you must accept that I am to come with you. Whether the fourth Espada is now also human or not he is still a threat, and I do not feel it correct to leave his demise to you and your friends." The noble stated.

Rukia could not believe her ears. "Nii-Sama! Are you sure?" Her brother would be _accompanying her_. Something like this had never happened before. Mostly, her adopted brother had ignored her presence as much as possible.

"Quite sure." Came the curt reply. "Kurosaki, you will also be accompanying us, am I correct?"

_Stupid question, _Ichigo wanted to reply. But given the situation he deemed that a nod and a quick yes would probably be best.

And so it was decided. The two Kuchiki's and Ichigo Kurosaki would pursue Orihime and Ulquiorra, while Uryu Ishida would be left in the care of the two division four healers until he had recovered. If the former had not returned before the latter had recuperated then they were to follow and assist in any way they could.

Ichigo found this arrangement fairly crazy. Taking off on a rescue mission with the leader of the Noble Kuchiki family who also happened to be the Captain of the sixth division of the Gotei 13 was not how he'd imagined this rescue mission panning out.

But then, the way he'd imagined it was that'd he'd rescue Orihime, kick Aizen's butt and then get the hell out of there.

He had to fix it, he thought to himself as they flash stepped away into the desert.

He had to fix it or he'd carry the guilt of what had happened for the rest of his life. And shinigami, even substitute ones live for a very long time.

************

Back within the walls of Las Noches Orihime began to stir from her fitful slumber. It had felt good to get some rest and even though she had drifted in and out of sleep her body felt thoroughly refreshed. It was only someone like Orihime who could at that moment in time feel anything that felt like happiness. But for once she felt good about herself. Turning to look at the former fourth Espada who was twitching from some sort of lucid dream she smiled, taking in the fact that twice in a day she had saved him.

In a sleeping state he looked so peaceful, it was hard to imagine this was the same man who had kept her captive for so long. Although it was true that the tear marks and the helmet were gone his general facial structure was still the same, and at that moment a thought crossed Orihime's mind that he could perhaps be _beautiful? _She had changed him, that's for sure. His skin seemed to be glowing compared to his previous complexion and his hair held a new shine. Slowly Orihime crawled over to Ulquiorra to inspect him further while he was sleeping and she didn't have those piercing green eyes looking down upon her for once.

_Yes _She decided. _He is beautiful._ But deadly. And probably quite angry with her. Though that still didn't stop her from taking a hand slowly down to his flawless face. Before she actually reached his skin a hand shot up and grabbed her wrist.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you woman" That cold voice rung out as Ulquiorra's emerald eyes snapped open.

Orihime, shocked, tried to jump back but was still in the clutches of the pale mans large hand.

"Uh, I… Um…" She began, trying in vain to string together a sentence.

"Don't speak, unless it is to answer my question." Ulquiorra cut her off, his authorative tone still present in his voice. His eyes bore in to her and she felt that if he looked any more intensely he'd probably be looking right at her soul.

Ulquiorra was baffled by this woman. She looked absolutely terrified of him, yet every time he came close to death she unrelentingly worked to bring him back. He needed to understand. If he were really to live a human life, he supposed he would need to understand their actions and reactions to get by.

Releasing Orihime's wrist from his grip he began again attempting a slightly gentler tone, although still seeming impassive.

"Woman, once again you have saved me, I would like to know why. You do not owe me any favors yet you seem determined to keep me alive. Why is that?" Those soul piercing eyes looked upon her once again.

Orihime had sometimes, since his resurrection, wondered this herself. But over time had managed to come up with some semblance of a comprehensible answer.

"Well, you see… You seem to think you're someone not worthy of being saved. But I think differently. The first time I saved you, it was because I knew in your last moments you had realized something important – what the heart means. And the second time I saved you because you deserve a chance to use that knowledge…" She trailed off.

"I see." Ulquiorra considered her words. Had he really found a heart? Yes. He believed that he had. He'd reached out to her, wanted her to understand. He was sorry. But he had thought his death would satisfy her. Which now with human emotions he saw was incorrect, humans loathed death.

Orihime felt doubt creep up upon her. "Ulquiorra-san, I… I'm sorry if I did wrong. If you're angry then… then I apologize from the bottom of my heart!" Tears began to well up in her grey eyes.

_Heart… _It came up so often with this woman, Ulquiorra thought to himself. Was he really angry her? No, confused maybe but angry no. He had thought he was at first, and he still was not happy at the fact he'd been reduced to the level of a human but now he'd found a new purpose.

"Woman, stop your worrying, it's annoying. I am not angry with you. I've found a new purpose." He told her with a hint of irritation in his voice as she sniffled tearfully.

Orihime felt hopeful. "A purpose?" Well that was a start, wasn't it?

'Yes woman, a purpose. While lying here considering what I would do now that I have been deserted by my lord and most likely my kin seeing as I am now no longer one of them I realized something. I felt another feeling I've never felt before. A thirst for revenge…" He began, unusually talkative as he had always been in front of the orange haired human.

She tried to question him, but he cut her off.

"Do not interrupt woman, I am merely gathering my thoughts, not leaving you a space to speak."

Abrupt as always, Orihime thought as she promptly stopped speaking.

Ulquiorra began again. "I have been betrayed. I find this unacceptable. My former lord is now my sworn enemy. We're it not for you I would of perished on this marble floor. But because of you I have been given a second chance. For revenge."

Orihime was truly shocked. She was not sure what was going to happen but it certainly wasn't that. _Revenge! _Does that mean he's on our side now? She voiced this question quietly, hoping he wouldn't snap at her again.

"No woman, I am on no one's side but my own. But I promise you this, there are no ties binding me to that man any longer. I won't rest until his blood stains the floor of this castle. Even if it takes me a thousand years to regain my power, I _will _bring that piece of trash to his knees." His human emotions were taking over once again. He felt true anger build inside of him. And suddenly he lapsed into silence again. Not in all his memory could he think of a time he had spoken so much, and with as much fervor.

He was shocked at himself.

How could he possibly hope to regain his powers? He was _human _now. Downcast he looked away from Orihime, not sure how to carry on.

She knew his words were empty, well she knew he truly wanted revenge but she also knew that he had no idea how to regain his powers.

Fortunately for Ulquiorra, Orihime had a plan.

"Ulquiorra-san, I'm sorry to interrupt your thoughts but I would like to ask you something…" She began not sure how he would react.

Ulquiorra's head snapped back to look at her. She had a glint in her eye, which made him wonder what she was up to.

"Well, woman? What is it you wish to ask of me?"

Although the former Espada had told her that he held alliances with no one now, she felt in her heart that his desire for revenge would be more of a help than a hindrance to her dear friends and so she decided to continue, tentatively but determined to see her plan through.

"I.. I was just wondering if without your powers you could still open a garganta?"

The Espada turned human looked at her suspiciously. What was she up to?

"Anyone with an ounce of spiritual energy can open a garganta as long as they know how to do it" He replied as if it were obvious.

Orihime's eyes lit up.

"That's great! Do you think you could open one to the human world right now?" She asked excitedly.

"Not until you tell me why woman."

"Ulquiorra-san, please just trust me. I've helped you this far haven't I? She replied pleadingly.

Ulquiorra contemplated the situation. It was true that she had saved him - _twice _but he had no real desire to return to the human world. He suspected his presence would not be greatly appreciated by the Shinigami who were currently battling there. However, he thought, how can he possibly deny her? She who had risked everything to keep him safe.

"Very well." He replied, deciding to trust her judgment, like not many others would.

As they stepped into the now opened garganta he felt a sense of foreboding. Whatever was to come would not be easy. He belonged with no one. Had alliances with no one. It certainly wasn't going to be straightforward from here on out.

From the doorway that Orihime had entered when she had first discovered Ulquiorra bleeding to death, three figures - two with black hair and one with flaming orange hair stared in disbelief as their friend disappeared though a hole in the very fabric of space with her former captor and enemy Ulquiorra Cifer. They were too late. How would they reach her now…

******

Back in Karakura, Kisuke Urahara sat bored out the front of his shop. It had been a slow day seeing as he was now no longer receiving product orders from the Seireitei while the Captain Commander was currently engaged in battle.

_So boring…_ Kisuke thought to himself. _I wish something would just happen already._ Despite coming off as somewhat lazy on occasions it didn't please him when he was pretty much forced into having nothing to do.

He thrived on excitement, and being stuck in the real Karakura, holding the fort as it were with Tessai held nothing of the sort.

As he was dweilling on how very bored he was, suddenly he heard a tell tale rip in the fabric of the spirit particles in front of his shop.

Suddenly alert he drew Benehime, wondering at who, or _what_ was going to pop out of that garganta.

As the whole slowly opened he prepared himself for battle. But what was revealed was not something he had at all expected.

"Orihime my dear, so lovely to see you again" He exclaimed, enthused. "But who is this lovely young gentleman you've brought along with you?!" He continued in the same tone, until he realized just exactly who this "lovely young man" was.

Kisuke Urahara had wished for something to happen to alleviate his boredom. And you know what they say, be careful what you wish for.

********

A/N so it had been brought to my attention that my chapters were a bit short and I decided to try and bulk up a bit, what do you think?!

This took sooo long to do.

Review please, its people liking my writing that keeps me going with this!


	7. Chapter 7

Hi guys, hope this is still keeping you interested! Just to let you know that this Saturday I'm leaving for University so my updates may be sporadic and there might be some large gaps between them. But don't lose hope! I shall update when I can I'm determined to get this finished as I hate it when stories are not finished.

Also – here's a task for you, can you think of a better name for my fic? If it's good I'll use it, I'm rubbish with naming stuff!

*****************

Ulquiorra Cifer had been to the human world several times before for reconnaissance purposes during his time as an Espada and so when Orihime Inoue had lead him through the garganta and out in front of the Urahara Shop only to be greeted by the owner himself he had felt his newly found heart drop to the pit of his stomach. Why hadn't he realized earlier?! Research and information gleaned by Aizen had proven that Kisuke Urahara was well informed in the ways of Hollows. It was also widely known that he made a point of assisting Ichigo Kurosaki in his various quests. So it should have been obvious, really that the woman would bring him to this place but it just didn't cross his mind. In his current state his rationality was down by a fairly high percentage.

Having a sword pointed at his chest _really _wasn't the way he'd wanted to start his stay in the human world.

It was going to be a _long _day he thought with an inward sigh.

********

Benehime glinted in the sun as it was drawn out of concealment to face the Cuatro Espada. When Urahara had asked for excitement he couldn't of even imagined that Orihime would pop out of a garganta with an Espada in tow. Though it almost seemed like _he _was following _her, _which was pretty much inconceivable to the man in the green hat.

Orihime's wide smile dropped off her face as she saw the sword drawn from its sheath. _Oops _she thought, _maybe I should of gone through on my own first…_

Feeling Ulquiorra tense behind her she realized she would have to act quickly to avoid the clashing of blades.

"Oh no! Urahara-san please don't! Put your sword away!" She cried out. Confused but still wary, Kisuke lowered Benehime refusing to put the blade away. Orihime looked sheepish, she clearly hadn't thought her plan through properly before putting it into action.

"Miss Inoue, what exactly is going on here? The pattern of your companion's reiatsu is known to me – he is an Espada is he not? But there's something not quite right about it… He's almost… No it couldn't be…" He trailed off. "I'm at a loss, I think you shall have to tell me what's been going on before I'll even begin to understand." Urahara couldn't believe his eyes. This Arrancar before him appeared to be _human…_

As was common with Orihime when asked to explain something she didn't really know how to she began to babble. Today was no different. Urahara looked on bewildered as she began to attempt to explain what happened in Hueco Mundo.

"Well… Um what happened is that Ulquiorra and Ichigo were fighting and then BOOM Ichigo turned into this crazy hollow thing and then Ulquiorra turned to dust but my Shun Shun Rikka brought him back and he stopped time…" She carried on in this way for the next few minutes until Urahara raised his hand to silence her when she came to the part about Aizen and Ulquiorra's showdown.

"Hmm so Aizen's turned his back on you too huh?" He directed at Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra turned away. The shame he felt at being cast out by his former master burned through his chest as much as the slash of his sword.

"I can assure you, there is no love lost between me and that man." He spat out.

_Revenge will be mine._

Orihime smiled a huge grin once more. "See Urahara-san, there's nothing to worry about! Ulquiorra's sort of on our side now! Well… not our side exactly, but he's not on Aizen's side either so mostly our side and so we've come to ask you a favor if that's alright?" She crossed her fingers behind her back. It wasn't like Urahara to turn away someone if they needed help but this _was _a former Espada standing sullenly outside his shop.

Ulquiorra hissed at her. "Woman did I not tell you I'm on no one's side?" He spat out.

Orihime looked back at him with fear in her eyes.

"Sssh Ulquiorra, we need his help just _please_ don't say anything for now!"

Irritation flickered on the pale man's face.

"I didn't ask for anyone's help" He retorted.

Urahara watched this exchange with amusement. His day had turned out more interesting than he'd thought it would and he was intrigued by the strange situation before him. Deciding to hear the petite ginger woman's request he called out –

"Well well, I think you'd better come inside – I'll have Hacchi fix us some tea…"

Orihime smiled. "Thank you Urahara-san!" Everything was going exactly to plan…

*********

Later on, when the tea had been made and everyone was sitting comfortably, Orihime finally built up the confidence to ask Urahara what she'd wanted to ask the whole time. She was quite nervous, she could not really expect him to be willing to help Ulquiorra seeing as he was only recently one of their most dangerous adversaries but she sure could hope. So she started unsure but determined.

"Urahara-san, as you can see Ulquiorra is now human. And well he wants to stop Aizen as much as us now so really I was wondering if you knew a way we could get his powers back because you helped Ichigo that one time and well I… I just kinda thought you might know?"

Ulquiorra's head snapped up. He had been wondering for a while now what Orihime was going to ask the shopkeeper but he had never thought she'd ask something as ridiculous as what she just had. Why would Kisuke Urahara ever agree to help a former Espada? He simply wouldn't, thought Ulquiorra. He may be a banished Shinigami Captain but he _was_ once a Captain after all, the sworn enemy of all Hollows including Arrancar so helping him just wasn't going to happen.

_What a waste of time._

While Ulquiorra sat thinking this, Kisuke Urahara sat contemplating what the auburn haired girl had just asked him. It was true he probably _could _help the ex-Espada regain his powers but what sort of repercussions would it have. Although Ulquiorra seemed genuine about his hate for his former master, who could say what he would do if he regained his powers. Would he return to Aizen? _No _concluded Urahara _I don't think he would._ But would the regaining of his powers be of any help to the Soul Society and Karakura? Of that he was unsure. However, he'd never come across a Hollow who had been turned back into a human and his Research and Development side took over. Oh he did love a good experiment. _If only Mayuri were here _he thought.

At any rate, it was obvious that Ulquiorra had a good amount of innate power. He just needed to unlock it. And fortunately for him, Kisuke Urahara knew just how.

Having decided what he would do he looked at the now silent Orihime who looked back at him with doe eyes.

"Well Miss Inoue I've made up my mind. And although I'm wary that your friend here may not be as on our side as you hope I've decided that I'll help him regain his powers as any enemy of Aizen is worth aiding." Orihime's eyes lit up. "But I should add, it won't be easy and there's no guarantee that you'll survive. And if you were to fail then I doubt any amount of power would be able to bring you back again." He looked knowingly at Orihime. "Are you prepared to take that risk former Cuatro Espada?"

Ulquiorra was shocked. Although it obviously didn't show on his stoic features.

"What could you possibly gain by helping me?" He asked the man in the hat and clogs. He was completely dumbfounded. No one had ever willingly helped him before, with the exception of the woman of course.

Urahara chucked. "Well Mr. Espada I shall explain if you deem it necessary. Aizen is the sworn enemy of the Soul Society. But as well as that he's now trying to destroy the life right here in Karakura, which would of course be most inconvenient for business around here. So you see, if you were to return to full power your resolve and your thirst for revenge may just tip the scales in our favor – understand?"

_So everybody wins._ Ulquiorra thought to himself. _A fair trade._ _But what if it's a trap?_ If the shopkeeper didn't trust Orihime's judgment, in his current state it would not be hard to end Ulquiorra's short stay on earth and save Kurosaki the trouble. But then without power he felt useless, so it was a risk he would have to take if he wanted to reach his goals.

"Shinigami, I accept. I am inclined to feel… _gratitude?_" All these human emotions were so confusing, but he thought that gratitude was the correct one to be expressed at times like these.

"Now, now. No need for that, you might not be thanking me when we're done!" Urahara grinned.

Orihime was extatic. "Oh thank you Urahara-san! See Ulquiorra I told you to trust me!"

Ulquiorra turned towards her. "Cease your idle banter woman, it's annoying." Though he wasn't really annoyed, he was just confused. Why did this woman hold such a strong interest in his recovery?

Truth be told, she wasn't quite sure herself. Being of a helpful and caring nature came easily to her, but it didn't occur to her that she'd never gone to such lengths to help someone before. She didn't mind though, her head was too full of happiness that her new found friend (for that's what she considered them, despite his indifference) was going to be alright.

"Well," Urahara started, jumping up "now that we've agreed to go ahead I suggest we get started right away – follow me please!"

The stoic man turned cold. What would the shopkeeper have in store for him? He'd already been told he might not survive but who knows what kind of obstacles he would face on the way to regaining his powers. Standing, he prepared to follow Urahara down the corridor.

"Don't I even get a thank you?" A voice called out playfully from behind him.

"I am not here to pamper you woman." Came his reply, more out of habit than actual irritation. A small smile played on his lips though the petite woman could not see it.

Orihime was hurt, but recovered quickly. Although he was human now he didn't understand his emotions and so she was sure he would thank her later.

"Oh well I know you're thankful anyway" She giggled skipping to catch up with her former captor.

Ulquiorra turned to look at her. Her attitude since returning to the human world had changed so vastly. Back in Hueco Mundo she had been quiet and reserved but here in the world of the living she shone as bright as a star. She was on a high, it seemed and it looked as though it would be hard to bring her down. The contrast was shocking.

"Woman, a mere thank you would not be enough to cover what you have done for me so it becomes irrelevant."

This time it was Orihime's turn to be shocked. She'd asked for a thank you in jest, she'd never expected to get one. Well, okay it wasn't a thank you as such, but it was good enough, coming from him. She had stopped in her tracks, her silver-grey eyes open wide in shock.

The former Cuatro Espada looked down at her in amusement. "I believe that man said to follow him. It would be unwise to keep him waiting."

Orihime found herself again. "Oh! You're right, let's go!"

***************

Underneath Urahara's shop lies his secret training grounds where he had once helped Ichigo discover his own Shinigami powers after he'd had Rukia's borrowed ones drained from him. And it was to here that he now lead the former Cuatro Espada to help bring his powers back, though Urahara was uncertain what kind of power he would gain from his training.

As Ulquiorra walked along side Orihime down the long staircase to the training ground he couldn't help but wonder what was in store for him. He certainly didn't trust his tutor but he had no choice other than to at least try and regain his powers or he would never have his revenge.

The training ground was a huge place so it took them a while to reach Urahara who had gone on ahead of them to prepare. As soon as they had entered the training grounds Orihime had been reminded of the Vizard training ground where she had gone to find Ichigo when he had disappeared for his own training with them.

_I wonder why all the houses don't fall down in to these places, it can't be very stable…_ She thought absentmindedly to herself.

"Right Miss Inoue I shall have to ask you to step behind me before the training begins." Urahara called to Orihime as they finally reached him. She did so. "Thank you. Now let's begin shall we?" He said as he smacked Ulquiorra square in the head with the cane that concealed Benehime. Flying out of his body, Ulquiorra now in soul form hit the ground with a thump. Seeing a chain now protruding from just below where his hollow hole use to be he realized he was once again no longer human. He was dead, technically. From behind Urahara he could see the woman's eyes glow with worry. Suddenly while looking at her his stomach clenched up – it felt like their were butterflies dancing inside of him as he thought about why she cared for him. _What an absurd sensation_ he thought, looking away.

Urahara looked at the pale skinned man and decided to give him one last chance to back out of training.

"I must warn you, like I said before if you fail it won't bode well for you. There's a rather large chance you'll be reduced to a thoughtless low level hollow and we'll be forced to eliminate you, plus there's a chance although I'm not sure how high that you'll once again be reduced into dust as you were in Hueco Mundo. This is just a theory of course but is it a risk you're still willing to take when you've been given life again?"

The viridian eyed man looked back at Kisuke Urahara with a steely glare. "Yes." He replied, conviction clear in his voice.

"Very well then, let us begin!" Urahara almost shouted the last word as he unsheathed Benehime and severed Ulquiorra's chain of fate. From his place concealed behind a rock Tessai revealed himself while instantaneously using the same Bakudo (99 – Kin: Restraint) he had used to bind Ichigo with. Fully restrained the earth beneath Ulquiorra faded away and he descended into the pit below.

As he had with Ichigo, Urahara now explained to Ulquiorra that he had 72 hours before his chain of fate fully disintegrated and he lost all semblance of self.

Ulquiorra was in a state of shock. How was he supposed to find his powers while trussed up like a prize ham? For the first time he could remember he felt totally helpless and almost ready to give up until he heard Orihime shouting at Urahara from above. He couldn't give up, if not for his sake then for hers. She'd sacrificed so much to help him, by now her friends probably thought she really _was _a traitor. He'd not been there to see but he had to assume that she'd used some sort of force to depart from her precious Kurosaki to go find him. So it'd be unfair to not even try and regain his powers.

Suddenly he felt a sizzle as one of the links in his chain disintegrated. _Damn!_

"Best get working Ulquiorra, I'm not trying to kill you but you _will _die if you don't even try!" Urahara's voice rang out from above.

As Ulquiorra looked up he could see Urahara sitting on the edge of the shattered shaft fanning himself while looking down at him.

_If I make it out of here I am _never _coming to this man for help again _Ulquiorra angrily promised himself as his ordeal began…

**********

Orihime Inoue was frantic. She wished there was something she could do to help Ulquiorra but Urahara had told her it was something he had to go through by himself. And so every time she heard a shout or a roar come from deep within the shaft she couldn't help but run over and see how Ulquiorra was doing, only to see that there had been no change. She hated knowing she couldn't help.

Urahara was no comfort, he had offered her some food, for she surely must be hungry but she'd refused, wanting to stay and keep an eye on how her former captor was doing.

Urahara had shrugged and told her that being there would make no difference but she stayed anyway. He had left then, with a promise to be back in a few hours with some dinner and fresh clothes but Orihime had hardly heard, she'd been to busy listening for any sound that came from Ulquiorra's rocky prison.

And so the hours dragged by with no change, and the links continued to corrode and slowly Orihime slid to the ground in exhaustion and slipped in to a fitful slumber…

***********

Down in Shattered Shaft Ulquiorra was not faring any better than he had been when he'd first been lowered into the hole. Try as he might he couldn't summon forth the powers he knew were inside of him. Even the thought of being turned back into a mindless hollow after gaining huge amounts of power wasn't enough to spur him on to regaining his strength. Hope it seemed, was lost once again. Ulquiorra felt he'd been having rotten luck of late.

_If Kurosaki hadn't basically risen from the dead then this never would of happened _he thought angrily while straining on his bindings.

The hours ticked by… and all at once it seemed Ulquiorra came to his last 3 hours and his last 3 chain links.

_I've got to do something!_

***********

Orihime woke with a start. How long had she been sleeping?! Next to her was a plain white kimono, a jug of water and some sandwiches. Urahara had made good of his promise after all.

And then suddenly she remembered where she was – on the floor of training ground while Ulquiorra was fighting desperately to free his soul before his chain completely corroded.

In a flash she was beside the hole staring down at the man below. She could hardly see his chain now, there were 2 maybe 3 links at most left. She must have been asleep an awfully long time she mused, though only in passing.

Silently she prayed he'd find the strength to make it out the shattered shaft in once piece.

Silently he gave up hope.

************

Bitterly Ulquiorra wished he'd sought out another way to regain his powers. He knew he shouldn't of trusted the shopkeeper in the strange hat, this was obviously a way of getting rid of an unwanted enemy. _A cheap trick_.

He could feel his mask of sanity slipping as the second from last link eroded. He felt hungry again, oddly enough. Not a hunger for food, but the primordial hollow urge to consume anything with spirit particles nearby.

The minutes ticked by agonizingly as he finally ran out of ideas. Not that he'd really had any in the first place. He'd strained and struggled, screamed and raged but not a single thing he did saved him from his fast approaching fate.

The last link eroded. A howl pierced the sky as Ulquiorra Cifer threw back his head and prayed that some way somehow he'd miraculously escape before he became hollow once more.

************

Orihime sat absentmindedly near the side of the shaft, the kimono and the food untouched. She'd had a little water as she'd been parched after sleeping so long. She worried and fretted no end. She could see the chain corroding, there must only be a matter of hours, minutes even for Ulquiorra to save himself. It seemed that since his battle with Ichigo had ended he'd fallen from one misfortune to another without a seconds respite.

Suddenly a she heard bloodcurdling scream echo out from the bottom of tear in the earth. Alarmed Orihime leapt to this side of the pit just in time to see the last link in Ulquiorra's chain of fate erode away into nothing.

She reached out and did the only thing she could – she screamed.

"ULQUIORRA NOOO!"

He looked up at her. Their eyes met – Green against grey. The earth shook. Then without warning a viridian light shot out from the bottom of the shattered shaft into the sky and Orihime was thrown backwards by the sheer force of spiritual pressure exuding from the circular prison.

From the depths of the earth the sound of beating wings could be heard. The rocky dungeon crumbled as the bearer of the wings soared upwards into the sky and the artificial sun illuminated the figure's head in a halo of light.

Orihime looked on in wonder. She couldn't quite believe what was going on. She had seen Ulquiorra's release forms before and they had made her despair. But now he was different somehow, less terrifying. Although his black bat wings had returned and still retained their dark shade, Orihime could only feel joy at the sight of them carrying their owner through the azure sky because she looked on and she knew – she knew he had done it, he'd passed the test.

Ulquiorra Cifer was whole once more.

****************

AN – I'm getting alright at this longer chapter thing :3 Although I hope it didn't drag on too much.

But yeah, Ulqui's back baby! So what does this mean for Aizen and Co?! Well you shall find out if you decide to hang on for future chapters!

Please let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

Eek sorry it's taken like a million years for the next update, uni is so hectic I've had like no time for writing!

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From the entrance to the training ground Kisuke Urahara looked on at the scene with a sly smile. He found it somewhat amusing that the former Espada had made it out of shattered shaft unscathed and at full power once more and as he looked on he wondered if perhaps Ulquiorra would actually be the one to defeat Aizen. Though of course, only time would tell. Smiling still, he turned and exited the training ground, leaving the two figures by the shattered shaft to their reunion.

-----------------

The wind swept through Ulquiorra's black mane as he soared in to the sky in full release mode. Jubilation swept through him so strong he didn't even have time to register that he was feeling yet another new emotion. He also didn't register that he had somehow gained wings yet not gained the full body fur or the horns from his previous form of his full release. The power flowing through his veins once more was enough to preoccupy his mind for now. Feeling the power flow fit to burst Ulquiorra prepared to launch a celebratory cero into the sky but then… he saw her.

Tears flowing from her eyes Orihime stared back up at him but not in despair… in joy. Sealing back up the power that was coursing through him he slowly floated down to the ground before her and eventually came to a standstill. Ulquiorra looked on puzzled as the tears continued to flow down the pearly skin of Orihime's face. He didn't understand. Tears were supposed to connote sadness but she looked so happy. Which was a whole other world of confusion for him also. Why would she ever be happy to see him revived? He, who kept her captive, who also nearly killed the man she _loved_? As he thought the last thought he felt the stirrings of anger course through his veins. _Kurosaki… that trash._ His eyes darkened.

Slowly, without realizing, Ulquiorra sank slowly back to the ground in front of Orihime, her eyes following the entire time. As his feet touched the floor, the unsuspecting former Espada was jumped upon by a sobbing Orihime. Taken completely by surprise he froze, unsure of what the woman was doing. Ulquiorra had never experienced a hug before, not in this lifetime anyway and didn't really understand what was taking place.

"Woman… what are you doing?" He enquired in his usual monotone. Orihime's sobs paused as she lifted her head and looked up at him. Slowly it dawned on her what she'd just been doing… she'd _hugged _him! Abashed she released Ulquiorra from her almost iron grip.

"I… I.. Um… I was just so scared…" She trailed off, unsure how to continue. She had indeed been afraid for the life of the being before her, although now she had time to think she began to ask herself why again.

Ulquiorra was utterly baffled. Firstly he was confused as to why this woman harbored any sort of concern for him, and secondly he was confused as to why somewhere deep down inside him, the fact she was worried pleased him. Could it be that he too felt some sort of emotion for this woman? _Ridiculous _he thought, but could not shake that feeling despite his efforts. He looked down upon her, pondering these strange thoughts and as he did so, resumed his normal wingless shape. This woman had done so much for him and asked for nothing in return. He simply did not understand. But although he was trying to get his head around this he also knew he had another goal to achieve – revenge.

Yes, Aizen Sosuke was out there somewhere and if Ulquiorra had anything to do with it then his end was nigh…

As he pondered this, a large rip was heard tearing through the fabric of the atmosphere and a large garganta came in to view. Ulquiorra was on edge, what hollow would dare enter the world of the living now? And who gave the orders?

However, as the hole opened up, from out of it stepped a group of people he was less than eager to see.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime cried out as a mass of orange hair was revealed from within the garganta. His sudden reappearance made her nervous, especially as Ulquiorra was right there with her.

"Inoue, are you okay?" Ichigo enquired, surprised but also concerned at her presence at the Urahara shop with the Cuatro Espada. Or former Espada anyway.

Orihime was unsure what to say, he didn't seem angry at her but she was still reluctant to speak just incase.

"Kurosaki-kun" she began, much to Ulquiorra's displeasure. "How… how did you get back here? I thought you were stuck in Hueco Mundo…"

Ichigo looked on at the auburn haired girl in amusement. "Come on Inoue, did you really think we'd be stuck there forever? Captain Kurotsuchi was down there remember? He'd been analyzing the garganta for some time and managed to open one, so Captain Unohana, Uryu and myself have come back here to help sort everything out!"

Inoue was slightly confused. Where were the others? Why hadn't they come back? She voiced these questions and Ichigo told her what had come to pass after she had ran off after Ulquiorra…

"And then he got realllllly big and the One fell off his Ten and now Byakuya and Kenpachi are totally tag teaming him while Mayuri waits so he can examine the corpse. Kinda sick really… Anyway, Vice Captain Isane is back in Hueco Mundo tending to everyone's wounds so we're pretty certain everything is covered down there. The real battle is back in Karakura now!"

Suddenly, something clicked in Ichigo's mind. Alert, his eyes narrowed as he asked the orange haired woman before him –

"Hey, Inoue… just what exactly is HE doing down here?" hand on the hilt of his sword he began to take up his battle stance.

Ulquiorra, noticing the change in atmosphere followed suit, not really wanting to fight the copper haired teen but prepared none the less.

Captain Unohana stepped forward, for the first time entering the somewhat heated conversation.

"Perhaps we aught to let Miss Inoue explain before any swords clash, no?" Her serene atmosphere instantly neutralized the situation. Both parties relaxed their grips on their swords, still weary but willing to listen.

Turning to Orihime for an explanation they waited silently as she gathered herself.

"I.. I… Ulquiorra.. he… he's on our side now!" She choked out nervously, earning a displeased noise from Ulquiorra for the "on our side" comment. "Okay, well he's not on our side but hes not NOT on our side. Aizen betrayed Ulquiorra just like he betrayed us, and Ulquiorra nearly died again to get his powers back so he can fight him!"

Ichigo and Uryu, who had remained unnaturally silent throughout stared on in disbelief while Unohana smiled gently.

Stepping forward the Captain addressed Ulquiorra directly. "And what say you, former Cuatro? Is this tale correct?"

Considering the woman before him, and trying very hard not to call her shinigami trash, he looked her in the eyes and replied simply – "it is."

"NO WAY. On our side, you gotta be kidding me!" Ichigo replied, irked. "I just don't believe him!"

Unohana sighed. "So quick to discredit your friends words, you're blinded by your rage Ichigo Kurosaki…" She turned back to Ulquiorra. "From information we have gleaned from various sources we have been informed that you do infact have a way of _proving _your tale is correct do you not?"

"I do."

"Well if you would care to do so now to put all minds at ease we would be highly greatful." She continued, serene as ever.

Ulquiorra groaned inwardly. Although the removal of his eye would make everything a lot easier, it was still uncomfortable to do so and he tried to use the technique as little as possible.

Still, if it meant avoiding a battle that would hinder him on his way to Aizen then it was a worth sacrifice.

Silently the Shinigami and the Quincy looked on as the tale of what had taken place was revealed before their eyes. Ulquiorra was secretly pleased that his instant replay techinique did not reveal his _feelings _concerning the situation as they had been slightly erratic as of late. Which is, of course, something that had _never _happened to him before.

As his tale came to a close, Unohana smiled her trademark calm smile.

"Now that we have that sorted, I believe there is no need for any unnecessary fighting, correct?"

Uryu merely nodded his consent, eyes still wary. Ichigo looked at Ulquiorra, distrusting but willing to gain a new ally in this seemingly never ending battle. The former Espada's eyes narrowed slowly. He hadn't asked for an ally. Nor did he want one. However, as he considered the situation he saw that familiar orange haired woman looking up at him with watery eyes. It was clear that she wanted him to join Kurosaki's band of followers, which he would never do in this life time or the next. But strangely enough the thought of hurting her displeased him. He tried to cast the thought aside as being just because she'd helped him so much he felt like he couldn't but he just couldn't get the thought out of his head that he actually _wanted _to make her happy. Not out of the need to repay a favor but actually because he _cared. _

So, with this in mind he agreed to cease fighting with Orihime's nakama which earned him a huge grin from the woman herself.

"Then I believe it's time for us to depart Mr Urahara's shop is it not?" Unohana gently stated.

Ulquiorra looked towards the long staircase back to the world above. He didn't trust these Shinigami, but what choice did he have?

"Very well, let us be going. But understand this, Kurosaki… Stand in my way and I will crush you. Aizen is mine."

Ichigo gave the Arrancar a steely glare. "Let's go."

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Sorry it's a bit short and stuff, I'll try and update more regularly I promise __


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